The rubber will soon meet the road for Brian Rolapp. Traction won’t be easily found

If Brian Rolapp were to compile a list of those aiding his effort to reshape the PGA Tour, it should include two men who don’t actually work for him: Don Rea Jr. , for what he did by buffoonery, and Mike Whan , for what he’s about to do of necessity. Both are providing the Tour’s CEO the space necessary to continue discreetly politicking in the more unfashionable corners of his locker room.

The decision by the board of the PGA of America to formally dismiss Rea was revealing, in that it happened at all and in how it was handled. Rea is the third of the last seven PGA presidents to be publicly sanctioned, so the organization’s willingness to do it again exposes the extent to which his hubris rankled. That his ouster was communicated via press release issued at 5 p.

m. on Friday of a holiday weekend was a reminder that the only major golf entity overseen by professionals is invariably the most amateurish. But for Rolapp’s purposes, Rea conveniently chums the shallow waters of social media for just long enough until Whan will wade in.

The USGA will shortly announce new specifications governing golf ball distance will take effect in 2030. Cue pearl-clutching by the well-compensated emissaries from Fairhaven and Carlsbad, garment-rending by those who insist the battle was joined 20 years too late or has already been lost, and a disinterested shrug from folks who just want to enjoy a round before heading back to jobs that pay short money for long hours. The recriminations will rumble all the way to the U.